After some interesting twists and turns the past few months, Riot Fest has reached its final destination this weekend, back at Chicago’s Douglass Park and ready to reaffirm its status as one of the city’s leading independent music festivals.
New this year, the weekend debuts a “choose your own adventure” attraction called RiotLand with promised surprises, as well as live wrestling from Billy Corgan’s NWA league.
But, as always, the focus is on the music and this year’s lineup has some good gets.
Beyond the obvious — Slayer’s much-anticipated reunion and a set from hometown heroes Fall Out Boy — here are 10 other acts to pencil into your schedule.
So Cal’s funny punks are calling it quits this year, but not without a giant sendoff at Riot Fest first. Fat Mike and crew are bringing “NOFX World” to Douglass Park, playing a unique headlining set every night of the festival where anything goes. Throughout the day, the dedicated stage will be supported by friends and contemporaries like Circle Jerks, Descendents, Pennywise, Laura Jane Grace, The Lawrence Arms, Lagwagon and more. (8:30 p.m. Friday/Saturday/Sunday; NOFX World Stage)
The 20-year-old Mexican rapper/singer staged his first headline dates in America this year (including Bottom Lounge in March) and, in the process, racked up 2.2 million followers on Instagram. His style pays homage to traditional cumbia while adding in hip-hop flourishes for a unique past-future mashup. A collaborator of Peso Pluma and sharing stages with DannyLux, Tornillo has the potential to enjoy the same crossover appeal. (3:25 p.m. Friday; Rise Stage)
Chuck D and Flavor Flav are back together to fight the power at a time we need them most. The hip-hop legends are celebrating 35 years of their seminal album “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back,” which changed the game with its poetic pleas for activism and its groundbreaking sonic style adding in jazz, funk, and a wide array of samples. As hip-hop continues celebrating its 50-year milestone, Public Enemy is an indelible part. (7:25 p.m. Friday; Radical Stage)
This is love. Five of Bob Marley’s sons — Ziggy, Stephen, Julian, Ky-Mani and Damian — are touring together for the first time in 20 years, united in performing the works of their late father, including “Get Up, Stand Up,” “Three Little Birds” and other iconic songbook selections. It comes on the heels of the theatrical biopic released earlier this year and just ahead of what would’ve been Marley’s 80th birthday in 2025. (8:30 p.m. Friday; Rise Stage)
Kids these days … are pretty impressive. This North Lawndale savant is the youngest performer ever to take the Riot Fest stage, at just 9 years old. He will be bringing his incredibly catchy G-rated songs like “Summer Break” and kid-friendly takes on tracks like GloRilla’s “F.N.F.” Dat_Boy_Zach is one of the acts Riot adds every year to spotlight local artists from the North Lawndale and Little Village communities. Rounding out this year’s picks is elder rapper VII and cinematic metal troupe Alenia, both on Sunday. (11:15 a.m. Saturday; Radical Stage)
Finally, Verböten is scratching our 40-year itch with its first show since the '80s. Formed in 1982 in Evanston, the four kid punks — some as young as 10 — caused a ruckus, setting the stage for Jason Narducy’s various projects over the years and even inspiring a young Dave Grohl to begin on his rock-star path (he’s cousins with singer Tracey Bradford). Riot Fest marks Verböten’s long overdue comeback and is on the heels of the band's first album ever, out Oct. 4. (11:30 a.m. Saturday; Cabaret Metro Stage)
Dexter is coming to Riot Fest. Before you run and hide, actor Michael C. Hall will be playing himself, fronting this indie/alt rock/new wave trio. The past year has brought plenty of actor-musicians our way (Keanu Reeves’ Dogstar, Jared Leto’s Thirty Seconds To Mars, Michael Peña’s Nico Vega), but there’s something extra killer about this troupe. Not the least of which is that it’s rounded out by Matt Katz-Bohen (who plays keyboards for Blondie) and drummer/Chicago native Peter Yanowitz, an OG in The Wallflowers. (1:10 p.m. Saturday; AAA Stage)
Annie Clark could just as well have taken the headliner spot on Saturday (sorry, Beck). Her complex songwriting, incredible guitar playing, visual theatricality and art rock mashup with touches of electronic and jazz are the stuff worthy of stadiums, even if she keeps a New York underground vibe about it all. Her latest, “All Born Screaming,” is a true testament of her art-meets-science perfection; done live, it’ll easily be the set of the day. (6:35 p.m. Saturday; @ Cabaret Metro Stage)
Before Nekrogoblikon puts on its gremlin face and before the GWAR beasts don their chaps and grotesque best, Saxsquatch will lead the character parade on Sunday. The only way to describe this one-man band is Bigfoot performing songs like Hall & Oates’ “Maneater” and Daft Punk’s “One More Time” on saxophone. The person behind it, Dean Mitchell, actually has musical pedigree (he was in The Marcus King Band) but he truly unleashes his creative beast in this now-viral project. (1 p.m. Sunday; Rise Stage)
Atlanta’s progressive metal gods are one of a few acts (also including The Offspring and Manchester Orchestra) doing full album plays this weekend, but if you see just one, this is it. Mastodon has picked their seminal record “Leviathan” for the task — the “Moby Dick”-inspired collection is turning 20 years old in 2024 and is still considered one of the best metal albums of this millennium. (3:50 p.m. Sunday; Cabaret Metro Stage)
